Arkansas awarded $2 million for endangered species recovery effort

Arkansas will use a $2.2 million grant to support recovery efforts for endangered species like this yellowcheek darter in the upper Little Red River. (Pedro Ardapple-Kindberg/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Arkansas has received a $2.2 million federal grant to support land acquisition for the recovery of endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday.

The funding is part of $48.4 million in grants to 19 states and Guam to support land acquisition and conservation planning projects on more than 23,000 acres of habitat for 80 listed and at-risk species through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, according to a press release .

The grants will be matched by more than $27.75 million in partner funds. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which applied for the grant in January, is providing $80,000 to the project. Another $827,500 from other sources is also being contributed, bringing the total to nearly $3.1 million, according to a legislative report.

The Arkansas initiative is focused on the recovery of the yellowcheek darter and speckled pocketbook , a species of fish and freshwater mussel, endemic to Arkansas. The initiative also targets the northern long-eared bat , which is found in 37 states and eight provinces in North America.

“Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, this critical funding will help in conserving our nation’s most imperiled wildlife and vital habitat while fostering partnerships between federal, state and local governments, private landowners and communities,” Service Director Martha Williams said.

“These grants support the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative goal to conserve, connect and restore 30 percent of the Nation’s lands and waters by protecting biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and facilitating collaborative restoration efforts.”

Authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act and partly funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, CESCF grants contribute millions annually to support the implementation of state and territorial programs that conserve and recover federally listed and at-risk species on non-federal lands, according to the press release.

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